Posted on 09/10/2008 2:18:37 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Texas began issuing mandatory and voluntary evacuations as Hurricane Ike continued to strengthen and slowly moved toward an uncertain landfall destination in the western Gulf of Mexico. Texas Governor Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration in advance of the storm. Louisiana Governor Jindal released several hundred buses to Texas for evacuation assistance.
Reports from Cuba indicate widespread damage from Hurricane Ike, which raked the length of the island nation. The U.S. State Department again offered Cuba humanitarian assistance after a previous offer was declined by the Cuban government.
The stock market Wednesday rose as investors bought oil stocks and and oill futures fell.
Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours
Discussion Updated every 6 hours
Buoy data: Western Gulf of Mexico
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar
Corpus Christi Long Range Radar
Brownsville Long Range Radar Lake Charles Long Range Radar
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Additional Resources:
Navy Tropical Cyclone
Storm Pulse Very cool site
ABC 13 News Houston
FOX News Houston
KRIS-TV Corpus Christi
KZTV Corpus Christi
Brazoria County Emergency Management
Galveston County Emergency Management
Chambers Country Emergency Management
Liberty County Emergency Management
| Category | Wind Speed | Barometric Pressure | Storm Surge | Damage Potential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Depression |
< 39 mph < 34 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Tropical Storm |
39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Hurricane 1 (Weak) |
74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts |
28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more |
4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m |
Minimal damage to vegetation |
| Hurricane 2 (Moderate) |
96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts |
28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb |
6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m |
Moderate damage to houses |
| Hurricane 3 (Strong) |
111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts |
27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb |
9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m |
Extensive damage to small buildings |
| Hurricane 4 (Very strong) |
131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts |
27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb |
13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m |
Extreme structural damage |
| Hurricane 5 (Devastating) |
Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts |
Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb |
Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m |
Catastrophic building failures possible |
Previous Threads:
Hurricane Ike Live Thread I
TS Hanna, Hurricane Ike & TS Josephine [Other than that, the tropics are calm]
Tropical Storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine, TD Gustav (Other than that, the tropics are calm)
I’m from Alvin.
Somebody on TV was saying it could reach the Austin/San Antonio area as a category 2 hurricane. Don’t think Austin has been hit by a category 2 hurricane before, but I’m guessing that I won’t be sitting in the stadium watching UT beat Arkansas come Saturday afternoon.
Hurricane Watch, Hurricane Statement:
Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Liberty, Matagorda
Hey ThirdMate ... I’m also a Seabrook resident. Stay safe!
Interesting comparison
Colder water means less energy and lower wind speeds. Forward speed is determined by atmospheric conditions, not water temperature.
Is this a FR limit? I haven't seen that before. His graphic is 37k and I didn't see any animations. Thanks for the feedback.
TV people can be rather stupid.
Thank goodness I am a newspaper reporter....
(not that there are not dumb ones among us as well, but I have seen a lot more glaring TV errors for things like this than newspaper).
I believe it is extremely flat between Refugio and the Gulf of Mexico...
South of Corpus Christi, Padre Island will take some of the Hurricane Surge (be a partial barrier).
But the part of the Texas coast between Corpus Christi and Victoria seems to be very vulnerable...
As long as that historic ol' Mission survives (from the Battle for Texas Independence)...
From what I have seen, that is incorrect....maybe cat 1 though.
It is hard to judge from the maps the public see.
DEFINITELY tropical storm winds though.
Oh man, that’s closer than I am! lol Do you still have family there?
I guess we can expect numerous twisters this weekend.
http://www.noaawatch.gov/2008/ike.php
So much for my weekend camping trip. Oh well everyone keep safe. One thing, Texans have the best Emergency Response state wide system in the Union, we started it back in the 1960s after so many hurricanes hit the Texas coast.
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/11110/
Update on Texas Preparations for Hurricane Ike
And Rita’s forecast track started trending north at this point as well. But Rita happened two weeks later, and the troughs were probably a bit stronger by then. I’m inclined to think the track will keep trending rightwards but not as pronounced as Rita’s track. Unfortunately, splitting the difference puts Ike right into the Houston area.
Thanks - I’m sure everyone appreciates it
I don’t know who pissed in your Wheaties, but you have jumped into this thread with nothing but criticism. Find another thread to rain on, Debbie Downer. Thanks.
No we are not. We may regret it later - but we evacuated for rita - and then Fey was supposed to come dead on to Galveston - turned north..... I’m not being smug but think we’ll stay and see what happens....
I posted a question because you were setting limits on posts that I was not aware of. I made NO criticism in my post to you. Why the bitterness? If they are FR limits I would like to know. What is so evil about that?
Good luck from Fort Bend County
I’m in Bell county. We just got a notice from KISD that bus service may not be available on Friday because they may be needed for evacuations.
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